Ed Hasbrouck at PapersPlease.org has done an excellent job of exposing Big Brother’s plan to use facial recognition to identify air travelers, but I doubt that even he could have seen this one coming.

NEC’s global facial biometrics program will “solve health problems”

NEC’s press release is so audacious that I encourage everyone to read it. Here is an excerpt that is almost too incredible to believe.

Nagasaki University and NEC Corporation have established a program on global health & biometric authentication with Nagasaki University’s Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health Studies. The aim of this course is to research and develop human resources related to the utilization of ICT, including biometrics, to solve health problems in developing countries.

To claimthat a global facial recognition program could “solve health problems” is beyond absurd. I mean what is next, why not claim that it can solve disease and drought?

NEC also claims their global facial recognition program will help “in the management of child and mother health information” by identifying everyone.

The program will acquire fingerprint and facial images of mothers who volunteer to collaborate with the university’s Maternal and Child Health Information System. This will enable identification by biometrics, even when identification cards are lost or missing, and will enable the maintenance of health and medical information, such as birth data, medical history, treatment history, and immunization status.

Corporate doublespeak has never been better; on the one hand you have NEC announcing their plan to create a global facial recognition program starting in Kenya, and on the other hand they claim that only those who “collaborate” will be entered into their database.

So which is it? Are they laying the groundwork for a global facial recognition program in Kenya or is it a voluntary “collaboration?”

As part of the activities of this program, Nagasaki University and NEC will verify the effectiveness of a biometric system in the management of child and mother health information, which is important for understanding the health status of local residents. The program will acquire fingerprint and facial images of mothers who volunteer to collaborate with the university’s Maternal and Child Health Information System.

Finally, we have an answer. NEC is using the Nagasaki University’s “Maternal and Child Health Information System” to help create a facial biometrics program.

NEC is a master at corporate doublespeak; one has to read between the lines of the next paragraph to truly understand their global plans.

The philosophy of Nagasaki University is to contribute to the harmonious development of society by fostering a rich spirit and creating science that supports peace and collaboration. Based on the university’s outstanding track record in tropical medicine and other fields, it aims to become a global health education and research center that contributes to better health throughout the world.